The Misadventures of the Rebels With a Cause
by IAmMurphy'sLaw
Summary: The wizarding world is a fantastical place filled with wonder and magic. It's also filled with mystery, suspicion and darkness. The first war is over but it's left its scars. Now it's the next generations turn to navigate through the fragile peace that's settled over their world. What will they do when their peace is threatened? Can they save the day or will evil ultimately win? AU


A/N: Okay. So this is the last time I'm going to try and get this written. I swear. If this one doesn't work, I give up. I just... I love these characters so much and there's so much I want to do with this story, but nothing has worked properly for me yet. I'm hoping third(forth?) times the charm. Otherwise I totally and completely give up.

Ah, well. I hope you guys enjoy this. I love this story and the characters I've created for it and I hope you guys love it too. As soon as I've written the whole of part 1 of 8 out, I will (hopefully) post twice a week. Giving me ample time to finish part 2 and start on part 3 and so on. But for now, here is the newly improved first chapter.

Thanks for reading my rambles. Enjoy!

* * *

_The Time That Guy Wanted The Fancy Rock_

Chapter One: Owls, Trains and Automobiles

Thunder rolled lazily through the sky as rain tapped on the windows with comforting consistency. The atmosphere in the small cottage was a lazy one. The matron of the house sat in her kitchen slowly stirring her morning tea as she read a particularly daunting article in the newspaper about the passing of a new anti-werewolf law. The matron sighed in dismay as she finished it and moved on to the next story in hopes of better news.

Up the stairs and down the hall to the right was a brightly colored room. Inside this room was a very lumpy looking bed. Looking closer, it seemed said lumpy bed was actually breathing. The breathing lump gave a start at the out of place rapping on its window. The lump gave a large, put upon sigh and tossed the blanket away to reveal a disheveled and sleepy girl. Stretching, the girl yawned and rubbed her eyes, before looking around in confusion about what had awoken her.

_Rap, rap, rap_.

The girl looked out her window and blinked at the very wet owl perched on her windowsill. _That's odd. I never get mail,_ she thought as she let the poor thing in. The large and irritated owl shook itself violently, spraying water everywhere and making the girl cringe, before holding its leg out to her for her to take the letter attached. As soon as the owl was unburdened, it gave one last squawk and flew right back out of the window.

The girl watched it leave in bewilderment, still a bit foggy from sleep. Looking at the letter in her hand, the girl's eyes widened and filled with excitement. She quickly opened the envelope and pulled out the two thick pieces of parchment to read;

HOGWARTS SCHOOL_ of _WITCHCRAFT_ and _WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

Dear Miss Langley,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1st. We await your owl by no later than July 31st.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

_Deputy Headmistress_

Riley Langley buzzed with excitment as she skimmed over the second paper telling her what she was required to get. Her Hogwarts acceptance letter was here! It was in her hand! She felt slightly dazed and she stumbled out of her room and down the stairs into the kitchen.

"Mum!" She cried practically jumping into the women's arms, "It came! It finally came! I got my Hogwarts letter!"

Elaine Langley smiled softly at her daughter, returning the enthusiastic hug, "That's wonderful Riley! Your Dad's at the shop today, so we can call Remus after breakfast and ask if he'll take us to Diagon Alley to get your things. How does that sound?"

Riley squealed and skipped away back towards her room to get dressed; "You're my favorite mum ever!" she called over her shoulder.

"I'd better be!" Elaine laughed.

* * *

Diagon Alley was an interesting place to say the least. Witches and wizards, hags and warlocks, creatures of the night, goblins and house elves, everyone gathered there bustling about to and fro. The shops were buzzing and streets were crowded. Mysterious things hung off shelves and sat in barrels. Brooms were being tested and sweets were being tasted. People were haggling and shop keepers were reeling in customers. It was all the liveliness of a regular market, but with a magical touch.

Remus sighed as once again, Riley tugged him over to yet another table to discuss with an old thief about the true value of the things he was selling.

"I don't believe you," Riley stated matter of fact, "There's no way, at all, that this necklace belonged to Morgan Le Fey."

"Of course it did, you silly girl," The thief insisted, going a little red in the face, "Can't you see the markings? It's the markings of Morgan's circle!"

"I'm not stupid, old man," Riley said giving the thief a heated glare, "I saw a necklace exactly like that, just last week in Mattie's place. He told me those markings were generic runes used to make things feel authentic."

The thief glared at the unimpressed girl before giving a final huff and slouching a bit, "I'll give it to you for six sickles."

Riley's face split into a blinding grin, "Sold. It was a pleasure doing business with you."

Remus shook his head at the girl as they walked away from the angry and exasperated thief, "If you know that the markings are fake, why'd you still buy it?"

Riley just gave him a sly smile, "I know the markings are fake, but I also know that this necklace is one of a kind and was stolen from Mattie's a few weeks ago. He told me that the way the silver is weaved and how the jewel is placed marks it as a one of kind made by Gregory Elswitch. I needed a present for Mum's birthday and this seemed perfect. She loves Elswitch jewelry, but doesn't have any pieces of her own."

"Good call," Remus said chuckling, "But don't tell your mother where you got it from. She already thinks I'm a bad enough influence on you as it is."

"Of course not," Riley replied, slipping the necklace into her pocket. A moment later they found Elaine in Flourish and Blotts, already loaded down with books and still looking longingly at the shelves.

"I know I can't do magic myself, but these books are just so interesting. I mean look at these; _Modern Magical Marvels_, _Dangerous Dally's with Dragons! _How could anyone not want to read these?" Elaine gushed.

Remus smiled and Riley snickered as they led the awestruck woman to the counter to buy the books she'd picked out.

"Mum, you do this every time we visit Diagon Alley. You can't buy the whole shop," Riley said as the clerk looked at the unsteady stack of books frightfully.

"Yes, yes, I know. But you can't blame me for trying," Elaine sighed, "Did you get everything else you needed dear?"

"Everything but my wand!" Riley said cheerfully, "Remus said we should wait for you before we did that."

"Yes. I thought you might like to be there for it. It's considered a rite of passage for magical kids to get their wands. I know Isaac will be sad he missed it." Remus said. He quickly placed a feather light charm on the bags carrying the books and collected them before leading his companions to Olivanders.

Finding Riley's wand went by without too much problem, though Olivander would probably be spending his afternoon cleaning the shop after one wave of a bad wand made all the boxes on one wall go tumbling to the ground. Elaine apologized profusely but Olivander waved her off saying that was more common than not.

After a good twenty minutes, Riley had finally found her wand. Little bubbles burst from the end of it as she waved it around with a laugh.

"10 ¼ inches, cherry wood and a unicorn hair center. A light and flexible combination, very good for enchantments." Olivander stated proudly.

Riley grinned. Light and flexible, hm? That sounded perfect.

* * *

The night before Riley would leave for Hogwarts, her whole family gathered together in the Langley's cozy dining room for dinner. The family was small and little bit broken, but they were happy.

Isaac Langley was a squib from a small pureblood family of witches and wizards. When he turned eleven and still showed no sign of magical talent and no invitation to Hogwarts, the family disowned him. He was sent to live with a cousin in Germany until he was old enough to support himself. He came back to England when he turned twenty and started a life with his new wife, Elaine.

Three years later, while out camping with their newly adopted daughter, Isaac and Elaine were attacked by what they later found out was a werewolf. Elaine, being completely muggle, was left only with scars and a slight limp, but Isaac was not so lucky. Because of his latent magical genes, the curse took effect. Luckily, the Ministry cared very little about squibs and remained completely unaware of this particular werewolf, allowing him to open his own antiques and rare books shop.

When Remus arrived, Riley glued herself to his side and didn't leave it all evening as she rapidly told him about all her plans and schemes for when she got to school.

Remus Lupin was Riley's favorite person in the world. He had been best friends with Riley's biological parents as well as her adoptive ones. He had been named godfather when she was born and from that moment on, Remus had worn the title like a badge of honor.

He was Riley's partner in crime, her best friend, and her confidant all wrapped up in one. After Riley's mother died and her father went to Azkaban, Remus had done everything in his power to gain custody of Riley, but being a werewolf made the endeavor impossible. Luckily, Isaac and Elaine had been more than happy to take Riley in. Because of this, Remus was able to make sure he was always around when Riley needed him, whether it was a question about her biological parents or help with some mischievous scheme.

Riley was under the belief that Remus was actually an evil genius and often claimed him as being the mastermind behind some of her best pranks and shenanigans. That was why she spent most of the evening going over ideas and the most efficient ways to set up certain plans at Hogwarts with him.

"You are going to pay attention in class, though, right Riley?" Remus said after a lapse in the conversation, "We've talked about this before, remember?"

Riley sighed and repeated once more, the words Remus made sure to drill into her head, "My education is equally important as having fun. If I want a good job and a good life after Hogwarts, I have to have good grades. My jokes and plans will not affect my schooling."

Remus couldn't help but smirk at the monotone way she repeated his speech. He knew just telling her to focus on her schooling would not only be hypocritical but also useless, so instead he made sure to get through her head that she could have all the fun she wanted and still get good grades if she tried.

"Good. I know you'll love your lessons just as much as I did," Remus nodded, and then quickly added with a wink, "You'll find your lessons can actually improve your pranks efficiency by leaps and bounds, until even the teachers will have to wonder how you managed it."

"Remus!" Elaine scolded, throwing a napkin at him as the rest of the table laughed.

The rest of the meal was spent bickering and laughing as the all the adults talked about their times at school. Elaine spoke wistfully of her friends from university. Isaac told them rueful stories of trouble he got into in grade school. Remus was happy to tell Riley all about his times at Hogwarts, though he was still slightly hesitant to talk about her father as he always was.

Riley's birth father was, in fact, a criminal. A murderer to be exact; one of the most famous one's too, seeing as he was responsible for the death of twelve unfortunate muggles and one young wizard. His name was Sirius Black and Remus just happened to be his best friend. Not anymore, obviously, but it was why Remus and Riley were so close.

Remus had taken it upon himself to be the best godfather he could possibly be for Riley, because he felt guilty. At least, that's what Riley figured. Remus couldn't be there for Harry Potter who'd been his other best friend's son and so he tried double time to be there for Riley. She understood, though, and didn't hold his reasoning against him. She just enjoyed what she had and tried not to question it.

As the conversation dwindled, Remus took his leave, giving Riley final pieces of advice and encouragement. Riley helped her mother clean the table and then joined her father in the living room.

"Hey, Dad?" Riley mumbled, already half asleep as she cuddled up next to him.

"Hmm?" His reply just as sleepy as her question, the book he'd been reading drooping to lay on his chest.

"My birth mother was a good person, right?"

"Of course she was, Red," Isaac answered a bit confused.

"And Remus is a good person," Riley continued, "So how did they end up loving someone so… bad?"

Isaac sighed and pulled Riley a little closer, "He wasn't always bad. You're a lot like him you know? He was funny and charming and smarter than most gave him credit for, but he had a hard home life. I think it started with your birth mother's death that pushed him towards dark places first. His friends tried to help and for a while, we thought he was okay. Then the Potters died and I think he just couldn't take anymore. That's all just speculation, mind. Maybe one day you'll find out the truth, because none of us know why he did it or what really happened."

Isaac looked down to see Riley already fast asleep. He sighed and settled back into the couch. He always regretted not knowing Sirius all that well. They had only met through Remus the year before Riley had been born. He had seemed like such a pleasant fellow, if a bit of a troublemaker. The love he had for Eliza had been so clear, and after she died, he had shown nothing but devotion to his daughter. Isaac shook his head and closed his eyes; it was no use dwelling in the past. What was done was done and he couldn't change it.

Half an hour later, Elaine smiled in amusement and sneakily grabbed the camera to snap some pictures of the father-daughter duo, asleep on the couch.

* * *

The next morning, Riley rushed about the house, grabbing all the last minute things she forgot to pack. Elaine sighed as she heard another loud thump alerting her to Riley colliding with another door…or the floor…or her trunk…

"Sweetheart, are you alright?" Elaine called

"M'fine!" Riley called back, followed by some scuffling and the notable wild red curls appeared poking around the door frame. "I tripped over my trunk again. Where's Dad? Isn't Remus running the shop today?"

Elaine laughed lightly and handed her daughter some toast as the two of them walked to the door. "He is. Your Dad is out with car, trying to make room. He forgot he had a pick up today. Mrs. Allen decided it was time she got rid of those end tables."

Riley grinned. Mrs. Allen was a shopaholic. She went all over the country searching for the perfect antique furniture and then would get tired of them and donate them to Isaac's shop.

"Well he better work fast. We're going to be late!" Riley said as she stuffed the toast in her mouth and grabbed her jacket.

"We'll be there in no time, don't worry."

Riley practically ran to the car with her trunk dragging behind her. Isaac grinned at her excitement and carefully placed the heavy trunk in the car. Before she knew it, Riley was standing between platforms 9 and 10 and hugging her parents' goodbye.

"Don't forget to write," Elaine said, planting a kiss on Riley's forehead.

"We'll miss you, Red," Isaac said hugging her tightly.

Riley promised to write, hugged them both one last time and stepped through the wall.

* * *

Platform 9 ¾ was packed with students and their families as they all rushed to find compartments on the train and said goodbye to their loved ones. Riley stared at the large scarlet train in wonder. She'd heard so much about it from Remus, but it was nothing like seeing it in person. Riley quickly hauled her trunk onto the train with a little help from some kids father who took pity on her.

Riley sighed as she made her way down the train to find a compartment. She could already feel the panic rising in her chest. Who was she kidding? She couldn't do this. She'd never really had friends before. All she'd ever known was her family. How was she supposed to act? What was she supposed to say? Riley stopped and took a deep breath. Banishing the thoughts from her mind and plastering a grin on her face, just like she'd been doing since she was little. Throwing her shoulders back and raising her chin, Riley strolled into the next compartment she thought was empty only to see another person already there.

The boy was on the ground seemingly looking for something under the seats. His butt giving a little wiggle as he shifted further along. Riley tried to stifle a giggle with little success, startling the poor boy. There was a smack and a yelp and then the boy was quickly pulling himself free. His face turned beet red at the sight of her watching him.

He was a first year like her, she could tell by the plainness of his school robes. His black hair was a little disheveled and his chubby cheeks were flushed with embarrassment. Feeling her smile grow into something a little more real, Riley gave a little wave.

"Hello," She greeted, "Do you need help?"

The boy stared at her in shock for a moment before nodding quickly, "I-I lost my toad, Trevor! I was hoping he was just hiding under the seats, but I can't find him anywhere!"

Riley gave the distraught boy a reassuring smile, "I'll help you look."

The two thoroughly searched every nook and cranny of the compartment before Riley suggested they try searching the others as well. The boy, she'd nicknamed him sniffles by this point as he looked about ready to cry, just gave her a hopeless little nod and the two set out to find the missing toad.

"I'm Riley by the way," Riley said after asking the third compartment full of people if they'd seen Trevor.

"N-Neville," Sniffles replied.

Riley patted Sniffles' shoulder sympathetically, "Don't worry, Neville. We'll find him."

Riley and Neville spent most of the late morning and afternoon searching the train for the elusive toad with little to no success. They met most of their year mates along the way, though.

One girl in particular stood out from the rest. She had offered to help Riley and Neville search, but Riley quickly found the girl to be highly irritating. She was by far the bossiest and biggest know-it-all Riley had ever had the displeasure to meet. The two girls immediately got off to a bad start when Riley suggested they try a Summoning Charm and the girl, Hermione Granger (Though Riley had settled on calling her Miss Priss), told her under no uncertain terms that she couldn't do it and shouldn't try without an adult around. Needless to say, it only got worse from there.

It was a couple hours after lunch that the three of them split up. Hermione and Neville went one way, while Riley went the other

Riley sighed as she stuck her head into another compartment to ask if the people inside had seen a toad. She'd been looking up and down the train for hours. She hated to say it, but she didn't think Neville was going to get his toad back.

Opening another compartment door, Riley just barely got out of the way quick enough for a boy to fall face first on the ground in front of her. Raising her eyebrow at the boy, Riley glanced into the compartment to see two other boys laughing their heads off.

"I know I'm pretty brilliant, but throwing yourself at my feet seems a little extreme," Riley said to the redhead groaning on the ground. The other two boys just laughed harder at her words.

The redhead groaned again and pushed himself up off the ground, sending a glare at his friends. Turning to Riley, the boy dropped into a graceful bow, "I apologize, my lady. I saw your beauty and thought you must be a princess and thus the only appropriate reaction was to throw myself at your feet."

Riley felt herself blush despite her best efforts, but grinned none the less, "You're good. I'll give you that."

The redhead grinned, "I'm George; those far less attractive idiots in there are Fred and Lee."

Riley grinned at the offend squawks of protest coming from the boys. Now that she really looked at them, she could see that Fred and George were twins, which just made the whole thing funnier to her.

"Riley," She introduced between laughs.

George grinned at her, "So to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit, My Lady?"

Riley tried to calm her giggling as she explained about Neville's missing toad, only to learn that they hadn't seen Trevor at all, "Well, if you do, let me know. I'll probably still be looking for him."

She waved goodbye and continued on with a disappointment that was quickly becoming a familiar companion.

Riley didn't make it back to her compartment until the sun had begun to set. The girl flopped face first onto one of the benches, feeling defeated and exhausted. She felt awful for Neville because she knew how much pets could mean to their owners. She wouldn't know what she'd do if she ever lost Batman; her clumsy hero of the night. Isaac had given her the beautiful black owl for her eighth birthday and the two had connected instantly. She was sure losing him would be like losing a limb.

Riley was broken from her thoughts when Neville stumbled in, followed closely by a huffy Hermione. Neville slouched into a seat across from Riley and gave her a horribly hopeful look. Riley sighed, sat up and shook her head sadly at him.

"I'm sorry, Neville. I couldn't find him, but don't worry!" She added on quickly when it looked like he might start crying. Nothing terrified Riley more than someone crying, "When we get to the school, we can ask the teachers for help. I'm sure they'll be able to find him for you."

Neville nodded sadly and gave a little sniff. It was at that moment that the train slowed to a stop and a voice announced their arrival in Hogsmeade. Riley quickly tossed her school robes over her clothes and made her way off the train with the others.

* * *

A/N: Once again, I apologize for the sudden redo. I hope you liked this.

**Warning: more rambling ahead. **

I decided that Riley was too connected. There was just too much going on with her and she was just this huge, unforgiving Mary Sue and I think that might have been my biggest problem with writing the story. I wanted her to do and be too much at once. So I've tried to majorly tone her down. Here's a little list of changes I've made this time, that you might be interested in knowing.

\- Instead of living with Andromeda, Ted and Tonks and having Moody as her uncle, she now has two completely original adoptive parents and Remus. no one else. She does not know Draco, Adromeda, Tonks, or Moody.

\- Eliza dies in childbirth instead of via Death Eaters and Sirius actually has nearly two years to create a connection with Riley before he goes to Azkaban as she's born in September of '79 and he doesn't go to jail until October of '81.

\- Riley has a stable, happy childhood. The only traumatic thing to happen to her is having the weight of believing her biological father is a murderer and worrying about her adoptive fathers "furry little problem". And even that doesn't effect her much until later in the story where they both have a part to play.

\- She's going to have a lot harder time making friends this time around.

That's all I'm going to say here, I don't want to spoil anything, but I think I'll add little tidbits like this at the end of each chapter, if you're all interested.

Until next time...


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